Fresno Bee Profiles the The Latino Environmental Health Project

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Latinos gather to talk health; Valley's air pollution is a serious

concern.

Barbara THE FRESNO BEE

674 words

21 February 2004

The Fresno Bee

FINAL

A1

English

Copyright 2004. The Fresno Bee. .

Dust and pesticides in the fields where they work, exhaust from

traffic in their lower-rent neighborhoods and a lack of health

insurance combine to make air quality a serious health concern for

Latinos in the San Joaquin Valley.

The Latino Environmental Health Project polled 350 Latinos from

Stanislaus to Kern counties about environmental health issues and

shared results with about 250 people at an environmental health

conference Friday in Fresno.

The conference brought together community leaders and decision makers

to work toward grass-roots solutions to environmental health problems

facing Latinos, said Arteaga, executive director of the Latino

Issues Forum. " It's about results, and it's about making change

happen. "

Among those attending was state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter. The

senator credited San Joaquin Valley residents for putting pressure on

legislators last year that helped him to win approval of a package of

clean-air farm regulations.

Florez said he plans to introduce new legislation next week that

would add one cent to the gas tax to pay for clean-air initiatives,

such as replacing aging diesel school buses. The San Joaquin Valley's

school buses, particularly those driven in rural communities, are the

oldest in the state, the senator said.

Florez expects opposition to an increased gas tax, he said. " But

there is a cost for clean air. It is not free. "

Attendance at Friday's conference was a testament to the urgency for

cleaning the air, Arteaga said. The Latino Environmental Health

Project is a partnership among the Latino Issues Forum, Fresno Metro

Ministry, Family HealthCare Network and La Union del Pueblo Entero.

Funding for the group's report came from The California Endowment and

the California Wellness Foundation.

Leaders at the conference said solving the San Joaquin Valley's air

pollution problems will require tough measures, including changing

the health-care system to provide universal access to health care for

all California residents.

" It would be different if everyone had health insurance or a good

living wage from farm work, said Rey Le¢n, senior policy analyst for

the Latino Issues Forum in Fresno. " At least they would be able to

deal with illness more effectively. "

Many of the Latinos queried for the survey had asthma or their

children had asthma, a lung condition that can be worsened by

breathing dirty air. But they did not have health insurance.

In Fresno and Madera counties, 26% of the children and 15% of the

adults reported they had asthma, but almost one in four of the

children were without health insurance and 35% of their parents were

uninsured.

Asthma rates for those living in Stanislaus, Merced, Kings, Tulare

and Kern counties were similar to those in the central region. But

almost half the adults in the northern and southern counties were

uninsured. More than one-third of the children in Kern County were

without insurance and 22% of the children lacked coverage in

Stanislaus and Merced counties.

Consuelo , 35, of Fresno worries about smog affecting the the

health of her six children and she is concerned about pesticide

exposure for her husband, a fieldworker.

" I think they have a lot of chemicals in the air and it affects their

lungs, " she said Friday, speaking through an interpreter.

was one of the 350 Latinos who participated in the survey.

She attended the conference, she said, because " the community needs

to work together to stop the contamination [of the air.] "

Carolina Simunovic, environmental health and community outreach

worker for Fresno Metro Ministry, said participants in the survey

represent " the voices that don't get heard " by government officials.

Latinos are the ones most exposed, with jobs that put them at risk

and a lack of resources to alter their situations.

Said Simunovic: " These are the members of our community that we need

to protect the most. "

The reporter can be reached at banderson@... or 441-6310.

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